$0.19 per share quarterly cash dividend, payable on March 25, 2009 to the holders of record of the common stock of the Company on March 11, 2009.

Stamford, Conn.-based Silgan (SLGN), No. 1 in the $3.5 billion North American metal-food-can market, recently lowered its profit guidance for the year, citing higher borrowing costs. Yet an 11% jump in quarterly profits prompted Deutsche Bank analyst Mark Wilde to upgrade the stock to Buy from Hold. He has a target of 50 on shares that recently traded for 43, or 12 times 2008 consensus estimates of $3.57 a share. Panjabi, the Wachovia analyst, values Silgan at 65 to 67 in view of the company's "good pricing power and knack for cost-cutting."

Silgan, which makes steel and aluminum containers and might conceivably suffer high metal prices, has managed to pass on raw-material risk to customers. It has a recession-resistant portfolio, since 60% of its business is in metal food-cans, and canned food is the cuisine of choice during tougher times. The company also makes the kind of plastic containers used for personal care products, "and in a recession we still have to clean ourselves, hopefully," Manuel says. At about 53, the stock has jumped 16% since mid-March but is still off its July peak.

Upgraded by Lehman Brothers from Equal-weight to Overweight

Upgraded by Longbow from Neutral to Buy

sick free cash that grows and stock is cheap on valuation

Upgraded by Wachovia from Mkt Perform to Outperform